Outlook: The Mountaineers will be very inexperienced, but for the first time in Brothers' reign they will likely have a full lineup. They also have 24 wrestlers the most Brothers has had as Mountaineer coach. A revitalized youth program should soon pay dividends.

Outlook: Six returning state tournament place winners led by state champ De La Cruz and fifth placers Ugalde and Johnson could make for this the best team in the state. Shaun Glasgow (dislocated elbow) and Johnson (knee) will miss the start of the season with Glasgow out longer. But there is plenty of depth and young talent around to fill. Two unheralded athletes are Gombas and Ryan Doerr. Gombas is at his natural weight after being up at 170 last year.

Outlook: Manville has turned into a tough dual meet team over the past few seasons and return 10 varsity letter winners. But the quest is to move up, becoming more present in county, district and region tournaments. They are hoping to fill all 14 weights, a challenge for one of the smallest schools in the state that fields a wrestling team. Caswell is a youngster to wach after placing second in the NJ Intermediate Kid States tournament.

Outlook: The Canucks have two solid leaders and athletes in J.T. Valley and Dominic Mulhearn, but the majority of the roster is made up by the inexperienced. Miller believes the team will fill all 14 spots when the team is healthy. The team will be in its first year without longtime assistant Dennis Passe, who's retired.

Outlook: The Big Blue has some experience and talented youngsters to mix. They hope to make it three straight Non-Public B North sctional finals except with a different result. Captains Charlie Duryee, Brandon Preziosi and Mitch Suzuki are outstanding leaders.

Outlook: Young team with a vastly improved morale. The Panthers are commited to a "team first'' attitude, which is a welcomed change, coach Greg Evans said. Calo, a three time region qualifier, two-time state qualifier and two-time district champ, enters the season with a 79-21 career record.

Outlook: Central had an outstanding season last winter despite forfeiting several weights and the Red Devils have filled in those holes. The centerpiece is two-time state runner up Gary Dinmore, hoping to reach the top step of the podium this season. Collin Boyle was a win away from placing in Atlantic City and Dylan Nace was two away. His promising younger brother joins him this year.

Outlook: Ridge made some improvement last year after a productive off season and is banking on continued improvement. Jack Fleishman and Vincent Bommier present an experienced light weight group and captains Ted Caruso and Austin Oliver solidify the middle. Josh Rand, Patrick Jin, Winston Zhu, and Cort Hotz will anchor the upper weights. Newcomers Billy Schmidt, Connor Scherzer, and Trisston Conway also look to make an impact. Ridge will be inexperienced up top, but promising Alex Gherardi and Mo Attie figure to improve with more bouts.

Outlook: A young team with an outstanding senior at the front in Magaldo, third in the state last year, a champ as a sophomore and second as a freshman. A healthy Alex Murray will also be a big plus. He suffered with a back injury last year. But the Warriors will be inexperienced for the most part after losing a foursome with a combined 128 wins last year. 128 Meyers, Magaldo, Pollera, Muray, Carbajal will be the go-to guys.

Outlook: Seven Terriers who had at least 10 wins last season return and there is depth thoughout with a lot of competion up top. Kody Eichlin and Marek Tomanek, were both just one win - and a couple of points - away from the state tournament last season. Tomanek lost a tiebreaker and Eichlin fell in a 5-4 decision in region consolation finals. They should be the leaders of a team that will have some promising freshmen, and balance throughout.

MONTGOMERY

Coach: Kurt Franey, 3rd season (23-23).

Last year: 13-13 overall

Key losses: Lenny Bird (3rd district, 3rd county, 31-6 at 132); Louis Colonna (2nd district, third county, 28-9 at 145); Tyler Ajamian (2nd district, third county, 30-9 at 152); Kevin Kolb (5/6 region, third district, third county, 27-6 at 182)

Outlook: Montgomery looks to rebuild after losing four its top 10 winningest wrestlers to graduation. The Cougars are led by 195 pounder Anthony Cassar looking to improve on last season's fourth place region finish, qualify for the state tournament and make a significant run at Boardwalk Hall.

Outlook: North has consistently been a solid dual meet team and the talent is there to keep that going. The Lions are out to turn around two tight losses to Hunterdon Central (29-27) and Voorhees (26-25) last season. The depth should allow the Lions another strong team season. Junior Ryan Pomrinca, seventh in the state as a freshman at 113, is healthy after breaking his hand late last season.

Outlook: Somerville has experience between 106 and 182, but youth follows. Sophomore Evan Drill, fourth at the district and county last season as a light 106 pounder, will open at 113, but eventually return to 106. Seniors Moumen Akel, Tanner Clark and Dominic Bierwisch bring a lot of mat experience to the middle weights and Alex Bruskin, Travis Hartrum and John McIntyre should be solid up top.

Outlook: A major step back to prominence was taken last year when the Vikings won the North 2 Group II title, the program's 15th sectional crown. That success should be sustained iwith a good group of all around athletes led by senior 145 pounder Christian Okulicz, coming off a very good football season. Heavyweight Alex Fischetti, a returning District 17 champ, is another one to watch along with sophomore 113-pounder Kyle DiNapoli, one win shy of becoming an All American this past summer in Fargo

OUTLOOK: Ortega, a state champ at 130 in 1993 for the Highlanders, returns to his alma mater, taking over for longtime coach Rick Iacono, who's retired. He inherits a team that lost seven starters to graduation, including Mele and Haddad, who both had more than 100 career wins. He'll rely on leadership from senior captains Joe Colder and Ryan Hoy. The Highlanders open the Ortega era Saturday with a trip to Matawan's Icebreaker Tournament.

Outlook: The Raiders return eight varsity wrestlers led by five region qualifiiers with six having 20 or more wins last year. The Raiders were second in the district. from last year's team, which was second in the district. The Raiders return 5 Region 3 Qualifiers More than 50 are in the program with Gavor looking for some of them to fill openings. He thinks the team should make an impact in the district and county tournaments.

Outlook: The roster is thin, so staying healthy and free of injury is vital. A number of sophomores and juniors will gain valuable experience and the team should be better at season' s end. Seniors Matt Barber and Nick Velez had outstanding off-seasons and have ability to make significant post season runs. Juniors John Fuller and Nick Kalimtzis have plenty of mat time and Kevin Frega showed tremendous improvement throughout his freshman year, starting out 2-9 before finishing 11-15. He was third in the district. DeFilippo is a year-round wrestler who will be expected to make big contributions. A number of wrestlers including Chris Hoerle, Jarek Gozdieski, Devin Anderson, and Tom Anderson are making their first appearance with the varsity, but got a sampling up in off-season camps and tournaments. The progress that those wrestlers make will have an impact on just how well Westfield does.

Outlook: New Providence returns three region 3 qualifiers. One of the goals is to qualify for the North II Group 1 sectionals. Pioneers look strong at 120,126,152,182, 220 and 285. Newcomers Morang, and Johnson are looking to make an immediate impact.Others to watch are Byrnes, Mellusi, Bardhoku and Dimler.

Outlook: Talent is in the room enough that the Cardinals are thinking about being the first to get a sectional playoff berth. The Cardinals are young, but have solid leadership Plainfield in senior captains, Kyle Brookens, Nansi Hernandez, Diego Rivera and Derick Washington. Derrick will be looking to become the second 100 win wrestler in Plainfield's history. He has dedicated the season to his former teammate Dawud Hicks, Jr., Hicks, fatally shot in the city earlier this month, is the winningest wrestler in program history.

Outlook: Appello's team wrestled a highly competitive schedule last winter, thus the team's lopsided record. The Blue Jays competed against the likes of Monroe, Westfield, Governor Livingston and Bridgewater-Raritan. With a promising group of freshmen combining with an already young team that was fortunate enough to gain valuable varsity experience a year ago the Blue Jays expect to improve on last year's record and compete for a division title. Most of the newcomers hail from middle school programs.

Outlook: The Chiefs, with Nazeer reaching the finals, placed 11th in the GMCT. Despite graduating four key starters with 12 or more wins apiece, Piscataway has a solid nucleus with which to continue rebuilding. Incumbent region qualifiers Udott and White are the program's cornerstones.

Outlook: The Tigers return seven starters from a team that ended last season ranked No. 1 in the New Jersey Wrestling Coaches Association final poll for a second consecutive year. The graduated Murderers' Row (Stasenko, DelVecchio, Ashnault, Heilmann and Painton) combined for 204 wins last season. Despite their departure, South Plainfield's tremendous tradition and feeder program will keep the Tigers in the mix for another state title. A challenging schedule will have South Plainfield battle-tested. The Tigers are looking to repeat as GMC, District 12, Central Group II and Group II champions. South Plainfield is led by incumbent state qualifiers Hedden and Sikel. The Tigers are looking for leadership from senior captain Jazikoff (a three-year starter), Lynch and Gerardi.

Outlook: Senior Diego Miller and junior Tino Ciatti take over as captains with Prep looking to return to the look to the NJSIAA Non-Public B team tournament. Wesley Desouza became the first Argonaut to place in their maiden NJSIAA District 12. The team now hopes to get a third or better placer at the district and a more district place winners and a Region III ticket.

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Courier News wrestling teams at a glance

Coach: David Brothers, 8th season

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